Office of Global Education and Mobility
CF9001 Chinese Language & Cultural Studies
4-25 January 2017
Course Overview
The Chinese Language and Cultural Studies course is ideal for non-native speakers
who are interested to pick up basic Chinese language skills as well as gain insights
into the 5000-year-old Chinese culture.
The Chinese Language and Cultural Studies course consists of two parts:
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Part 1: Chinese Language Study
Part 2: Chinese Cultural Studies
Learning the culture and history of China will not only help students to pick up the
Chinese language faster but also enhance their accumulation of Chinese vocabulary.
This programme is credit-bearing (6 Academic Units) and will be held over a fourweek period. Classes will be conducted every Monday to Friday from 9.30am to
5.00pm. The medium of instruction will be in English.
Students who completed the language programme will receive a Certificate of
Participation from Confucius Institute and NTU, as well as an academic transcript to
facilitate credit transfer.
Course Description
Part 1 – Chinese Language Study (Beginners)
This course is suitable for non native speakers who wishes to gain an insight into the
Chinese Language. The course contents are designed to help students accumulate
chinese vocabulary and basic conversational skills for daily usage.
At the beginners level, students will learn writing skills like basic strokes, character
components and single-component characters. They can also expect to learn up to
260 Chinese characters, 40 grammatical points and 30 commonly-used sentences.
This course adopts an experiential learning approach that encourages students to
participate in several assigned activities which will enhance their listening and
conversation skills.
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Upon completion of the Chinese Language course, students will be able to
understand and construct simple phrases as well as engage in basic conversations
with Chinese speakers.
Part 2 - Chinese Cultural Studies
The Chinese cultural studies course aims to expose students to the intriguing
aspects of Chinese culture through classroom sessions, hands-on learning and visits
to places of interest with Chinese cultural significance.
On top of introducing the Overseas Chinese especially in Singapore and the region,
with the aim to enhance students understanding and appreciation of the traditional
Chinese cultural arts, the course will also introduce students to the history,
philosophy and aesthetic aspects of Chinese Seal Engraving, Chinese Ink Painting
and Chinese Paper Cutting coupled with hands-on sessions to deepen the students
learning experience. Students will also learn about and experience Traditional
Chinese Medicine (TCM), which originated in ancient China and dates back
thousands of years. As the third oldest form of medicine, TCM has formed a deep
and immense knowledge of medical science, theory, diagnostic methods,
prescriptions and cures.
Chinese Language Course Syllabus
Topic
Learning Objectives
This module aims at introducing the Chinese Phonetic system
(Hanyu Pinyin) and the Chinese writing system, which is
fundamental to learning Chinese.
Introduction
Common Greetings
Family & Given Names
Students will be given a broad overview of the above two
mentioned , and also learn how to apply the basic knowledge
learnt in reading and pronouncing Chinese lexical terms.
This module aims at introducing the students how to make use
of the frequently used greetings in n the daily life. The students
will be taught the polite greetings in special occasions, and
normal greetings in daily life.
This module aims at introducing to the student the basic ways
to ask and tell other people their names and introducing
themselves at the same time.
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Countries and
Nationalities
This module will teach students how to ask another person
his/her nationality and origin. Students will also be taught how
to respond to a question on his/her nationality and origin. They
will learn the polite ways to ask questions and make requests.
Topic
Occupation
Physical Appearance
Age
Locations and Addresses
Family and Relationships
Time and Calendar
Introductory Terms
Learning Objectives
This module will teach students how to ask and answer
questions about one’s occupation, also the ways to affirm
other’s questions or comments. Both proper and causal ways
of saying will be introduced.
This module will introduce to students how to tell a person’s
height, weight and general appearance. Both positive-negative
questions will be covered.
This module will teach students how to ask and tell one’s age
(adults, children, seniors). Making suggestions or enquiring
someone’s opinion will be covered.
This module will teach students how to ask and tell one’s
location and address. They will also learn how to ask or tell a
distance.
This module will teach students to ask and tell briefly about
family members.They will also learn how to talk about one’s
feeling about something.
This module will teach students how to ask and tell the time.
They will also cover telling people what to do at a certain time
and the polite forms to make enquiries.
This module teaches students how to briefly introduce one’s
basic information.
Participation and Attendance
The academic transcript will be awarded to students who achieve 80% class
attendance and pass all the course assessments.
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Course Assessment
Language:
• Mid-Term Test (Written, incl Listening)
: 20%
• Final Examination (Written, incl Listening)
: 30%
• Oral Test
: 25%
Culture:
• Quizzes/Assignment at the end of each module : 25%
Attendance requirement: 80% and above
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